An engine having a plurality of cylinders typically requires an initial investment cost and regular maintenance costs associated with operation of the engine. Thus, it would be advantageous to have systems for early detection of any impending failure in components of the engine. Some of the early detection strategies may include, for example, an early detection of a knocking condition, an early detection of a cylinder failure, or any other event which may cause damage to the engine. Any such failure may increase downtime and expense incurred towards repair and replacement of the failed components.
Traditionally, symptoms of a cylinder failure may include high exhaust temperature, excessive smoke in the exhaust, or high crankcase pressure due to a loss of compression in a cylinder. These symptoms may be indicative of a failure of a piston, a piston ring, or a cylinder liner of the engine, and therefore can be used as a sign for a failure of the cylinder. When a loss of compression occurs in a cylinder of an engine, a engine failure usually follows shortly thereafter. Thus, any delay in detecting an impending cylinder failure could adversely affect performance of the engine in operation and may increase an amount of downtime required by the engine for subsequent maintenance of the failed cylinder. Further, continued operation of the engine with the failed cylinder may negatively impact operation of other components in the engine which could have been avoided if early detection before loss of compression in a cylinder was performed.
German Patent Application 10 2015 009 202 (hereinafter referred to as “the '202 reference”) relates to a cylinder pressure module for an internal combustion engine. The cylinder pressure module receives combustion chamber pressure values from a pressure sensing device. This pressure sensing device measures combustion chamber pressures as a function of time, crankshaft angle and camshaft angle. Further, the '202 reference discloses a pressure-core analysis device associated with the cylinder pressure module. This pressure-core analysis device evaluates a combustion cycle of the engine from the received combustion chamber pressure values. The cylinder pressure module of the '202 reference is configured to perform, amongst other things, a detection of a knocking event, and a detection of a cylinder failure. However, the '202 reference does not disclose a manner in which these failures could be detected on the basis of the measured values of combustion chamber pressures.